The Motel
by Don'tForgetTheNotes
Summary: Joe and Lauren check into a motel late at night but with strange things happening, all is not as it seems...


_A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I've been MIA for a while. I've been writing scripts as I had a university interview! I took the screen adaptation of my fanfic The Willows and hey I got offered a place at that university so that's awesome :D_

_Anyway this is written a little differently to what I've written in the past, I just wanted to try something so I hope you like it! It's all from Joe's POV just so you know!_

_I do not own the characters, they are based on members of Team StarKid. Any relationships are purely for the sake of the story._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

I trudged along the sidewalk towards the entrance to the motel. I was tired, being the only designated driver and having to drive half the night kinda sucked but we'd made it. Lauren, my wife of nearly two years was shuffling along behind me and I heard her yawn slightly. She'd been able to sleep in the car, unlike me. However I was glad she had, she was six months pregnant with our first child after all.

Finally, we made it to the front door of the motel and I held the door open for Lauren. She walked in and I followed, making sure not to bang the door behind us. The lobby was empty and deathly silent. There was no one stood behind the reception desk but it was in the early hours so I had guessed it wouldn't be manned. There was a small, brass bell on the desk with a sign next to it, 'If reception is unattended, please press the bell.' I turned and looked at Lauren for a moment before pressing the bell.

The sound of the service bell echoed around the empty lobby. A moment later, I heard footsteps coming from the corridor behind the desk. A man appeared from a room off the corridor and walked out into the lobby. He was a middle aged man with thinning hair and large rimmed glasses.

"Can we have a double room please?" I asked, as he looked at me expectantly. The man nodded before turning to look at a large cabinet of keys. I watched as he opened it and pulled a key off the second highest row. I looked at Lauren as the man walked out from around the desk, she had her eyes closed and her hand rested on her round bump.

"If you'd like to follow me," said the man meekly "I'll show you up to your room." We followed the man as he walked out of the door of the lobby. He locked the door behind us and led the way towards a set of rusted metal stairs. We went up to the first floor of the motel and along the walkway. I wouldn't have chosen this motel if it wasn't for the fact that if I'd spent any longer at that wheel, I would have fallen asleep.

"Have you travelled far?"

"We've been driving since early this morning." I answered, yawning as if to confirm the length of our drive. We would still be driving for most of the day once we left here. The man smiled at my answer before finally stopping at a door. We were outside room seven. The faded blue paint the door was covered in was peeling and cracked and the black number seven that was nailed to the door was slanted to the left slightly. The man unlocked the door and held it open for us.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to call down to reception." He whispered and with that he quickly walked back the way we had come. I took the key out of the door as Lauren went into the room. I shut the door and locked it before looking around at the room. It was basic and could do with a lick of paint but at least it appeared clean. Lauren sat down on the bed with a sigh.

"Remind me why we decided to drive there?" She questioned as she rubbed circles on her temple. I laughed slightly as I put our bags down on the battered chest of drawers before going to join her on the bed. We sat in silence for a moment before deciding it was best to change into more comfortable clothes and go to sleep.

* * *

It was a few hours later when I was awaken by a loud bang. I sat up in bed and looked around the darkened room. Lauren was sound asleep next to me so she couldn't have made the noise. However I was still worried, it felt like there was something else in the room. Quietly, I stood up so as not to wake up Lauren and slowly walked towards the bathroom door. As I drew closer, I could hear water dripping from a tap, drip, drip, drip. I rounded the corner into the bathroom and flicked the light on.

The room was empty. The sickly coloured green tiles gleamed in the light and I found myself looking at my own reflection in the mirror above the sink. I looked around the room, even pulling back the faded shower curtain before finally walking back out into the bedroom. As I turned off the bathroom light, I instantly regretted it as with the sudden light change, my eyes suddenly couldn't see in the dark. I felt my way back to the bed but didn't make it far before a sudden flash out lights outside the window made me stop.

I had to squint my eyes against the blinding white lights. They looked like car lights, this instantly struck me as being odd. We were on the first floor, the road ran parallel to the motel, there was no way a car could become level with the room for its lights to shine in. The lights grew brighter and I suddenly worried that the lights were going to come right into the room but then they served to the right and disappeared.

There was something not right here. I didn't want to go back to sleep without investigating first. As quietly as I could, I unlocked the door and went out onto the walkway outside. It was colder than I remembered it being when we arrived but I guessed coming out in just a t-shirt and boxers would contribute to that.

I walked over to the metal railing that ran along the walkway and looked out towards the road. The part of the road I could see was empty, not a soul in sight. There was barely any sound either, nothing but the rustle of leaves on a nearby tree and the hum of the lights on the motel sign. There was no way the lights I had seen had come from a car. Then what were they?

I gripped the metal rail for a moment and looked down at our car which I could see parked in the parking lot. Something caught my attention that made me frown. In the light of the moon, I thought I could see a dent in the bonnet. That certainly hadn't been there when we'd parked. There was something not right about this whole place. However before I had chance to investigate any further, there was a loud scream of,

"JOE!"

I rushed back into the room as Lauren screamed. She was sat up in bed, her eyes wide and her mouth open in the blood curdling scream. I rushed to her side and held her shoulders.

"Lauren baby what's wrong?" I asked, the panic plain in my voice. However she didn't answer me, it was like she couldn't even see me. Suddenly she stopped screaming and went limp. If I hadn't been holding her shoulders, she would have fallen back down. Gently laying her down, I brushed the hair off her face. That was when I noticed her eyes. Despite her clearing being unconscious, they were still open. She looked so…lifeless. I had to get her help.

Rushing around the bed, I lunged for the phone and picked it up. I remembered the man from the front desk had said to call if we needed anything but this seemed too important. I dialled 911 and held my breath as the call connected.

"911 what is your emergency?" said a woman in a calm voice. I was suddenly at a loss of what to say. What was wrong with Lauren? However before I could answer, another voice spoke.

"Hello, there's been an accident. A car's flipped over and a man and woman are trapped inside."

I…I didn't understand. Who was this person speaking? But then realisation hit…the conversation continued but I could no longer hear the 911 operator. It was cold and we were suddenly not in the motel room anymore. It was dark but there was noise all around us.

Finally, I opened my eyes. We were upside down in our car. No. No this couldn't have happened… I slowly turned to look at Lauren, she was staring back at me but then again she wasn't. Her eyes were wide and unseeing, blood was spattered across the left side of her face, no, not my wife, not my Lolo. She was…she was dead.

We'd never made it to that motel, we'd never met that man. I'd decided it was best to keep driving. And then I'd fallen asleep at the wheel…and crashed. Why didn't I stop? How had I fallen asleep? Why did dreams have to seem so real?

* * *

_So how was that? Let me know!_

_Bye!_


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